No Rain Falls In Australia For First Time In History As Fires Continue To Rage

Experts believe yesterday, November 11, may have been Australia’s driest day since weather records began 137 years ago. A forecast map for Monday showed zero rainfall predicted for the entire mainland of Australia, with just small amounts expected in Tasmania. Today, the Bureau of Meteorology confirmed that just about every single part of the country …

While it remained dry across most of Australia, during the 24 hours to 9am today rainfall was recorded in locations in both Victoria and Tasmania.

In Victoria, totals were mostly below 3 mm (5 mm at Ferny Creek). Some over 10 mm in Tasmania.

If there had been no rain at all, it would have been the first time in Australia’s history.

Bureau of Meteorology

The spokesperson continued:

The team can’t comprehensively identify a day in our records where there hasn’t been rain somewhere on continental Australia.

The spectacularly dry day comes after residents living near bushland in Sydney were warned to prepare for evacuation as the city faces an ‘unprecedented level of bushfire danger’.

Sydney is currently facing ‘catastrophic’ conditions, with many weather experts fearing heights of 37°C, combined with high speed winds and low levels of humidity, could lead to the ‘perfect sandstorm’.

The Army is currently on standby, ready to get helicopters out to evacuate endangered residents who are living in the 100,000 homes believed to be at risk, amid warnings of ‘the most dangerous bushfire week the nation has ever seen’.

PA Images

On Monday, the Rural Fire Service said:

Some fires may start and spread so quickly there is little time for a warning, so do not wait and see.

There are simply not enough fire trucks for every house. If you call for help, you may not get it. Do not expect a firetruck. Do not expect a knock on the door. Do not expect a phone call. Your safest option will always be to leave early.

RFS commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said 50 fires were burning across New South Wales and around 25 of them were uncontained.

At the time of writing, none of the fires have reached the emergency level, however Fitzsimmons says he expects some to do so today, November 12, as a result of the ‘catastrophic’ conditions.

Our thoughts go out to everyone affected by the fires.

If you have a story you want to tell send it to UNILAD via story@unilad.com

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More Than 1,000 Horses In Australia To Be Killed After Shooting Cull Given Green Light

A large number of wild horses in Australia are to be killed after a shooting cull was given the green light. Victoria Supreme Court ruled the cull could go ahead, with the intention of it protecting Victoria’s biodiversity. The Australian state boasts thousands of wild brumby horses who rely on the landscape’s grasses as a …

A large number of wild horses in Australia are to be killed after a shooting cull was given the green light.

Victoria Supreme Court ruled the cull could go ahead, with the intention of it protecting Victoria’s biodiversity.

The Australian state boasts thousands of wild brumby horses who rely on the landscape’s grasses as a source of food. It’s believed the number of brumbies in the Australian Alps has gone from 9,000 to 24,000 over five years.

A post shared by Wombat (@wombat.the.brumby) on May 30, 2020 at 4:45am PDT

In 2018, it plans were made to remove 1,200 of the horses over the course of three years.

In a statement from Parks Victoria, in May this year, Matthew Jackson, the CEO, explained the reasoning behind the agency’s decision to kill the horses.

He said:

The Victorian Government is committed to protecting Victoria’s biodiversity, ensuring it is healthy, valued and actively cared for.

Parks Victoria has a legal and moral obligation to protect the native species that are at risk of extinction from the impacts of feral horses and other pest animals.

The conservation of Alpine National Park is key to this. Native alpine plants and animals which are found nowhere else on the planet are not equipped to deal with the weight, grazing, hard hooves or trampling of feral horses.

Jackson added that while the country’s bushfires had a devastating affect on its biodiversity, it’s been ‘severely damaged by feral horses’ as well.

A post shared by Hannah. (@hannahrosemarie_x) on Jan 8, 2020 at 10:45pm PST

The statement continued:

By removing large invasive herbivores from the sensitive landscape, Parks Victoria is providing a greater chance of survival for native species. Feral horse management is one component of an integrated approach to reducing the impacts of introduced animals in the Alpine National Park.

All feral horse management operations are thoroughly planned, carried out by highly qualified and experienced professionals under strict conditions, ensuring the operations are safe, effective, humane and in accordance with all relevant legislation, codes of practice and standard operating procedures.

Despite the decision being given the go-ahead by Victoria’s Supreme Court, Omeo cattleman Philip Maguire plans to appeal it after already trying to stop the cull.

Maguire had argued that Parks Victoria failed to consult with the community on its decision to kill the wild horses, but the court ruled the agency wasn’t required to do so.

Justice Stephen Moore said Maguire did not have the standing to bring the proceeding and dismissed the case, but Maguire’s lawyer is now seeking an injunction, The Guardian reportd.

The local cattleman has already saved several horses and has said his land has the capacity for 150 of them.

Parks Victoria has said no horses will be killed before June 9 this year, but Maguire hopes to further halt the cull by now taking the matter to the Court of Appeals. It’s believed the matter with return to court on Friday, June 5.

Australian Reptile Park Celebrates First Koala Born Since Deadly Bushfires

An Australian zoo has welcomed its first koala joey since the crippling bushfires earlier this year. Amid the storm of events 2020 has endured already, it can be easy to forget the devastation of the blazes Down Under – more than 12.6 million hectares of land were burnt to a crisp, 33 people died and …

An Australian zoo has welcomed its first koala joey since the crippling bushfires earlier this year.

Amid the storm of events 2020 has endured already, it can be easy to forget the devastation of the blazes Down Under – more than 12.6 million hectares of land were burnt to a crisp, 33 people died and more than a billion animals were killed.

However, over at Australian Reptile Park, a true flicker of light has emerged from the losses across the country: Ash the koala joey has entered the world.

We have a very special announcement… Our very first koala of the season has popped out of Mums pouch to say hello! Keepers have decided to name her Ash! Ash is the first koala born at the park since the tragic Australian bushfires and is a sign of hope for the future of Australia’s native wildlife.

Ash was actually born back in January, however joeys often stay in their pouches for up to seven months, so it was only safe to check on her well-being recently. According to the zoo’s staff, Ash is estimated to be around five months old and is ‘right on track to be emerging from the pouch for the first time’.

In a Facebook post, the New South Wales Central Coast zoo wrote: ‘Ash is the first koala born at the park since the tragic Australian bushfires and is a sign of hope for the future of Australia’s native wildlife.’

They’re ambassadors for koalas in the wild: the ones who truly suffered in the bushfires. Koalas are iconic… and even though ours are bred in captivity, we like to think we’re helping the fairly decimated population. Ash represents the start of what we’re hoping to be another successful breeding season.

Across the bushfire season, Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley told ABC News that more than 30% of NSW’s koala population may have perished. However, Ash looks to be the beacon for a successful breeding season – currently, there’s at least another three joeys in pouches at the zoo.

Australian Reptile Park/Facebook

Rumsey added: ‘It was such an incredible moment when we saw Ash poke her head out of her mum’s pouch for the first time! Her mother Rosie has shown exemplary parenting skills and we know that Ash is in good paws.’

Australian Reptile Park is set to re-open tomorrow, June 1, after months of closure due to the current pandemic, with Rumsey adding that he’s ‘absolutely ecstatic to open our doors again’.

Australian Reptile Park/Facebook

Rumsey said:

While I’ve been at work everyday, we know the animals have been missing the visitors. We’re taking every precaution to ensure the safety of our visitors, staff and animals and have implemented our COVID-safe reopening plan.

Across Australia, there have been 7,195 confirmed cases of the virus, with 103 deaths – at the time of writing, more than 6,600 people have recovered.

It’s okay to not panic about everything going on in the world right now. LADbible and UNILAD’s aim with our campaign, Cutting Through, is to provide our community with facts and stories from the people who are either qualified to comment or have experienced first-hand the situation we’re facing. For more information from the World Health Organization, click here.

Men Hired For Sexual Fantasy Break Into The Wrong House

Two men who were hired to break into a house as part of a sexual fantasy were arrested after mistakenly targeting the wrong person. One of the men, Terrence Leroy, has only just been acquitted of entering a home armed with a weapon after the bizarre incident took place in July 2019. The role play …

Two men who were hired to break into a house as part of a sexual fantasy were arrested after mistakenly targeting the wrong person.

One of the men, Terrence Leroy, has only just been acquitted of entering a home armed with a weapon after the bizarre incident took place in July 2019.

The role play experience was arranged through Facebook, where an unnamed customer asked the two men to enter his home, tie him up in his underwear and stroke him with a broom.

Pixabay

The customer lived near Griffith, New South Wales, and provided his address to the hired pair so they could carry out their plan.

The client is said to have updated the pair when he moved to another house 30 miles away, but there appears to have been some miscommunication as the hired men clearly missed the message.

Not realising someone new now lived in what they believed to be their client’s house, the two men entered holding machetes, which they appear to have taken as props for the role play, Perth Now reports.

Wikimedia Commons

The resident of the house initially wasn’t alarmed when he noticed a light come on, as he was used to a friend coming early in the morning.

However, when the hired intruders called out the name of their client, the homeowner realised something was wrong. He removed the sleep apnoea mask he was wearing to find the two men standing above his bed, holding the machetes.

Upon realising their error, one of the men said ‘Sorry, mate’, and shook the resident’s hand before they left to drive to the client’s new address. Naturally, the homeowner was startled and contacted the police.

Pexels

Once at the correct address, the customer noticed one of the men had a ‘great big knife’ in his trousers and asked the pair to leave their weapons in the car. The client cooked bacon, eggs and noodles for his guests before police arrived at the property and arrested the two men.

Leroy’s lawyer said:

It was a commercial agreement to tie up and stroke a semi-naked man in his underpants with a broom. Entry was not with intent to intimidate.

Pexels

The judge on the case ruled that evidence did not suggest the men’s actions and decision to bring machetes were intentional, as he pointed out the fantasy was ‘unscripted’ and so there was ‘discretion as to how it would be carried out’.

He added:

He was willing to pay $5,000 if it was ‘really good’.

The New South Wales district court recently found Leroy not guilty of intending to intimidate while armed with an offensive weapon. The situation regarding the second hired man is unclear.

If you have a story you want to tell, send it to UNILAD via story@unilad.com